Or-der! 
NDP deputy leader Sara Singh accused the government of being behind the ball on the pandemic, noting that the vaccine distribution task force met for the first time on Friday.
“Why is the government once again scrambling — scrambling — to address this crisis?” she said.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said preparations have been ongoing for months.
"This is something that both the Office of the Solicitor General as well as the Ministry of Health have been working on together, because this is the largest immunization campaign in at least 100 years in Ontario," she said.
Singh called for a ban on evictions, paid sick days and a cap on class sizes to help Ontarians through the pandemic.
"When will this government stop trying to play the waiting game, spend the money that needs to be invested in this province and help people now?" she asked
Labour Minister Monte McNaughton said the government has workers on its mind, pointing to recent safety inspections in workplaces.
Long-term care inspections
Singh said the government's decision to cancel annual resident quality inspections in long-term care homes has "left seniors vulnerable," and pointed to the LTC commission's recommendation that they be reinstated.
Long-Term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton again noted that the issues plaguing Ontario's system are also happening in other places, but said the Tories have moved "decisively."
"Around the world, these long-term care homes and long-term care residents are being affected. Across Canada, it’s the same issue," she said.
Fullerton said there are more inspections being done currently than there were in 2012, but Singh noted that the type of inspections varies.
"The minister knows that there is a difference between the resident quality inspections and the critical inspections that are being done right now — there is a major difference between them — and she knows that for-profit facilities were not properly inspected," Singh said.
Greenbelt Council resignations
NDP climate crisis critic Peter Tabuns accused the government of launching "sneak attacks" on the environment on behalf of developers, noting the resignations of seven members of the Ontario Greenbelt Council after changes that would weaken the powers of conservation authorities.
"Why is this premier constantly attacking the environment for the benefit of his developer friends and donors? Why?" Tabuns asked.
Parm Gill, the parliamentary assistant to the minister of municipal affairs, repeated the minister’s claim that the council hasn’t put forward a plan to expand the Greenbelt.
"We’re hoping that with a fresh perspective on the council, we will be able to fulfil this commitment," he said.
Later, Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter said the government has given the public no confidence they would responsibly use "the broad, new powers that they’re granting themselves to override environmental stewards."
Things got testy when Premier Doug Ford rose for the first time to respond to a non-friendly question. He repeated the government's promise not to develop the Greenbelt.
"Unlike the Liberal government that touched it 17 times, I have not touched the greenbelt. We won’t touch the greenbelt. We won’t build on the greenbelt," he said. "Now, when it comes to MZOs, I know they aren’t in favour of accelerating 3,700 long-term care home beds, 720 affordable housing units, 100 supportive housing units, 16,000 market-priced rental homes and 26,000 jobs. We’re waiting for the Liberals. We’d be waiting for another 20 years, as we did under their administration."
Hunter said Ford has been "caught on tape promising your insider friends to pave over the Greenbelt," calling on him to remove the schedule that would limit conservation authorities' powers.
Ford accused the Liberals of "paving everywhere throughout the greenbelt. As a matter of fact, they switched it 17 times. Did they switch it just because they felt good? No, because they were protecting their development buddies."
Deputy Speaker Rick Nicholls asked the premier to withdraw that comment, which he did.
The premier then brought up Liberal leader Steven Del Duca’s pool, which he built without the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/steven-del-duca-public-private-pool-1.5477017" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">required permits</a> and then requested the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) hand over the land in exchange for a different portion of his backyard.
"Then when he got caught, Mr. Speaker, rather than fixing his mess, he tried to convince the TRCA to allow him to keep his pool and all his buddies over there, doing the backstroke with those development buddies," Ford said.
Later, Green leader Mike Schreiner also got in on the action, quoting from conservative politicians who resigned from the Greenbelt Council.
"Speaker, it’s not just AMO, it’s not just the big city mayors, it’s not just the OFA, it’s not just community groups and environmental NGOs calling on the government to stop attacking conservation authorities," he said. "It’s conservative politicians telling the premier to stop this fiscally irresponsible attack on protecting us from flooding."
In response, Government House Leader Paul Calandra listed previous conservative government achievements in environmental protection, including the creation of the Ministry of the Environment and conservation authorities themselves.
"I would say this member is quite correct that the government is throwing away that legacy," Schreiner said.
McVety
Liberal MPP John Fraser said the members who vote in favour of the government's omnibus bill, which includes the schedule that would allow Charles McVety's college to become a university, will be endorsing McVety's bigoted words.
"Make no mistake: it’s payday at Queen’s Park. Charles McVety is getting a special deal. The premier’s priorities clearly haven’t changed," he said, asking if Ford would allow his members a free vote.
The premier didn't respond, but David Piccini, the parliamentary assistant to the minister of colleges and universities, said the question was "disappointing."
"Under his previous government, that member — and he should know — when institutions came, including faith-based institutions, and asked for expanded degree-granting, the member would introduce things through private bills," he said. "This government is ensuring procedural fairness."

Your question period briefing: ‘Doing the backstroke with those development buddies’

Read this for free.